Page 89 of A Simple Mistake
To say that Jack was moping was overstating matters, but if he didn’t have something on his mind, he’d be tucked into bed beside Gareth, not wandering the house like a lost wraith.
Asking outright would do no good, so Gareth had switched to observation and stealthy intelligence gathering.And what his mind had suggested at the end of a week of watching was… preposterous.So preposterous, in fact, that the only way to make it make sense was to test his theory.
Since Jack’s absence had woken him, he decided to let deed follow thought and tackle Jack’s unease while he was most likely undercaffeinated and easier to ambush.
Gareth rolled out of bed, threw on a T-shirt and jogging bottoms and went in search of his wayward lover.
How had it become the end of September so quickly?Jack stood by the backdoor, coffee in hand, and contemplated their garden: the hot tub and Japanese-themed rock garden, the rows of leeks, spring onions, and strawberry plants.The apple and pear trees spread their branches against the brick of the far wall, ready to greet the morning sun, with their fruit almost all picked.Just like their house, the garden was a work in progress, but Jack could imagine it complete—or as complete as it would ever be between the four of them and their ideas.
The thought hurt.
More than Jack had imagined anythingcouldhurt.
This was the third house he’d bought and renovated.The others had been investment, entertainment, shelter—a safe base for him and his work.The house he’d bought with Gareth, Nico, and Daniel felt different.It was a home, and it was perfect for them.Jack hated even thinking about selling it and starting over.
It tasted too much of running away.
Hearing Gareth’s steps on the tile was a relief, unspoken permission to stop thinking.Gareth was dressed as if he’d just rolled out of bed, and Jack winced.He’d been doing that a lot lately, dragging Gareth out of bed to have conversations by the garden door.When had that become a thing?
“Did I wake you?”
“It was your absence that woke me.Coffee?”He held up the carafe from the coffeemaker.
“Please.”
Jack’s mug topped up, Gareth set the carafe aside and joined Jack by the doors.“Can I ask you a question?”
Jack wasn’t sure he could explain his anxiety, but for Gareth, he would try.“Sure.”
“Why did you ask the boys to decide what to do about Manville?”
“Why did I—what?”Jack’s eyebrows shot up.
“Tell me, Jack.”
“Because it should be their choice, more than anyone’s.Yes, we want Manville in jail, but if Nico and Daniel are called to give evidence, the defence counsel will make them remember all the shit in their past.In detail.I’m twenty years past it andIdon’t want to answer those questions.”
“Shhh.I didn’t mean to rile you.”Gareth put his arm around Jack’s waist and pulled him close.“I think Aidan would suspend his famous ‘no hard feelings’ rule and tear that counsel a new one,” he said.
“Maybe.But you understand why the least I can do is offer the boys the courtesy of choice, right?”
“Of course.You wouldn’t have reported Manville to the police if the boys had said no.”
“Of course not!”
“But you wouldn’t have let him get away doing what he did, either.”
Jack sighed in frustration.“Gareth, what is the point of you stating the obvious?No, I wouldn’t have reported Manville against the boys’ wishes.No, I don’t need the police to do damage, and yes, I’d have made his life a merry hell.Happy now?”
“Not really.Manville isn’t really the point here.”
Gareth dropped a kiss into Jack’s hair, and Jack had to fight not to melt.They were having a discussion, damn it!Even if he needed a moment to remember what Gareth had just said.“If Manville isn’t the point, then what is?”
“Your obsession with choices.A healthy obsession, I grant, but… if you’re so keen on Daniel and Nico picking what they want, then why are you out here at the crack of dawn suffering the consequences of a choice you haven’t even asked them to make yet?”
Jack had no answer for that, but Gareth didn’t need one.
“Youareworrying about selling the house, right?Grieving for what we’d have to leave if we moved?”Gareth shook his head.“You and my mother.Honestly.”
